Machine for separating and cleaning corn cellulose.



No. 700,055. Patented may la, moz..

' B. G. AKRAPF.

MACHINE FOR SEPARTING. AND CLEANING CURN CELLULS.

(Applicatio led Jan; 11, 1901.)

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Patentd May I3, |902.,

B. G. KRAPF.l MACHINE FOB. SEPARATING AND CLEANING CDRN CELLULOSE.

, (Application led. Jm 11, 1.901.) (No Model.)

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` @M MMM No. 700,055. l

B. G.4 KnAPF.- l

MACHINE FOR SEPARATINGAND CLEANING CORN CELLULUSE.

, (Alpncatign med Jam 11, 1901,) '(No model.)

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UNITED STATES BENJAMIN G. KR-APF,

PATENT OFFICE.'

OF TOPEKA, KANSAS.

MACH-INE FOR SEPARATING AND CLEANING CORNCELLULOSE.

sPEcIFIoATIoNrOrmmg para of Letters Patent No. '7oo,o55, dated' May 13, 1902. Appiiasan'sia January 11, 1901. sannita-12.910. (Nomaden T0 all whom'. it may concern:

Be it known that'I, BENJAMIN G. KRAPF, a citizen of the United States, residing at Topeka, in the county of Shawnee and State of Kansas, have invented.new and useful Improvements in Machines for Separating and Cleaning Corn Cellulose, of which the following is a specification.'

The crude product whence the cellulose hereinafter referred to 'is 'obtained is the de-V bris left fromxshelling corn. This debris consists of several distinct parts-first, a small portion of the husk, due to the fact'ot the cornr` being imperfectly hushed; second, a portion of the dry silk that adheresto the corn, sometimes thread'ing its'v v v'aybetween the rows thereof; third, the dustandismall pieces of the corn that become detached from the kernel, and, fourth, the cellulose proper, in which the kernelsaregerminated. The action of the Sheller upon the cob inthe shelling of the corn cleans ina more or less perfect manner these substances from'the cob. Heretofore they may have been thrown away as valueless. My machinejiltilizes them.

The object of my invention is to produce a; machine which shall be competent to separate/ and clean this corncob cellulose, giving aproduct entirely clear from any foreign matter,l producing what I denominate corn feath-l ers, a product thatl claim to be equal, if notf superior, in every respect for the use of pil-'1 lows and beds to the ordinary fowl feathers of commerce. The factors of equality, if n'ot' of superiority, consistin the cellulose being. a non-absorbent of moisture and of retainingl its springy and silky condition under all or-` dinary circumstances.

p In the drawings lillustrative of my inven-. tion hereto annexed, Figure 1 is a vertical Centersectional view taken through the line d g, Fig; 5, and line CZ c, Fig. 7. Fig. 2 isan end view of Fig. 1, taken as a whole lookingl to the left, and Fig; 3 is'the opposite endj view of -Ysame looking to the right. Fig. 'Ais1 a side View of thelower screening-machine inclosed in the boxingb, andFi g. 5.a top View of same with a portion broken away to show the device for distributing air from the blower to the screen. Fig. 6 is a side view of the and Fig. 7 a topview of same. Fig. 8 is a detail of the conveyer-box. Fig. 9 is a rear view y of same. `Fig. 10 is` a detail of the double screen shown in Fig. 1, showing the manner in'which the larger screen G surrounds the` smaller screen F. Fig. 11 is a detail of the lblower N, being a side view thereof with the pulleyV removed in order to exhibit the openings into'the blower-box and the eccentric by 12 is a longitudinal cent-er section of the shaft, pulleys, and eccentric, Aalso showing two of the fans of the blower N. Figs. 13, 14, andl'show therelative sizes of the meshes in the various cylindrical screens. Fig.- 16 is a longitudinal section taken through the line 10 ll, Fig. 3, and line 12 13, Fig. 4, showing the relative positions ofthe shaft, pulley, s'creens E and F and G, and conveyorbox K, particularly showing the manner in which the lower flanged end of the screen G is rotatablyinclosed in the said 'conveyer-box. In operating my machine the crude product is conveyed by any suitable means -intothe end of the primary cylinder-screen A at the point A', an inner projecting lip A" being /p-laced, as shown, projecting 'into but not touching the said screen A, its object being to convey the crude product far enough into the screen A to prevent any large. particles of dirt or other matter from being thrown back again out of said screen A. The screen A is located on the floor A B (consisting of the joists A' B and Hoor-boards A B') above the secondary screen E in order that the product operated upon may be carried along from screen A to the screen E through the various chutes by gravity. This screen A is coarsemeshed, being in actual practice about three meshes to the inch, as shown in Fig. 13, and rotates in suitable bearings h h' and may be driven by any suitable means, as by a pulley incline, andin the rotation thereof only that "portion of the'product containing corn feathers passes through its meshes. material is ejected out of the lower end C and down the chuteContothe flooror into a bin. This product is utilized foriilli'ng cheap matprimary screening device with its boxing a,

tresses and as a material to be used in packing. The portion passing through the screen which the shaker-screen L is operated. Fig.

andbeltV. lThis screen is set on a sharp.

The coarser' IOO falls onto the inclined chtite B, where it slides down into the reversing concave guideV D, bcing guided thereby into the upper end of the lower or finishing cylinder-screen E. The screen E, revolving in suitable bearings p p', may also be driven by a belt, it being desirable, however, that its revolutions be in harmony with the revolutions of the screen A.

The upper end of the screen E is of a fine mesh, heilig twenty-two meshes to the. inch approximately, as shown in Fig. 14:, allowing only the dust and small particles of debris to pass through its meshes. On one side of the fine-meshed portion of this screen (see Figs. et and 5) is an airconduit box V, in which are placed several guides which guide the air entering therein, as will be hereinafter shown, to the side of said screen, the volume of air being suiicieut to keep the contents of the screen in constant agitation and tends to free the cellulose to be preserved from the fine particles of dust and dirt. The screen E is also on au inclined plane, this incline having been determined by practical experience to be about one-half inch to the foot in length.

As the product is passed down longitudinally through the screen E it comes to a secondary screen F ot' the same diameter, however, as the screen E and extends from the )oint E to the point E and is of a mesh` l (about four meshes to the inch in actual practice, as shown in Fig. 15) that allows the cellulose proper to pass through its meshes, it taking a specied number of revolutions to produce the centrifugal force essential to this result. The screen F is a continuation of the screen E, they being of the same diameter and rotating upon the same long shaft p. Thescreen E extends from the upper end of said shaft, as shown, to the point E, and the screen F extends from said point E to the lower end thereof, or the point E". There is uo break or interruption between the lower end of the screen E and the upper end of the screen F save the change of the mesh from twenty-two meshes to the inch to four meshes to the inch, and the product is carried along longitudinally through said screens and from screen E to said screen Fby gravity. Around the lower portion of said long screen or said two screens E F and concentric therewith is the larger screen G. The screen G also extends from the point E nearly to the end of said screen F, (see Figs. 10 and 16,) the lower end of the screen G being inclosed in the annular box K, as will be hereinafter more minutely described. The object of the coarsemeshed screen F is to eliminate from the product at this point any portions of the coarser materials which may have passed through the primary screen A, ejecting such coarscr materials from the lower end EN thereof by gravity, permitting the finer product, in which is the corn cellulose, to pass through its coarse meshes onto the larger and surrounding screen G, which is also finely meshed, having about twenty-two meshes to the inch in actual practice, as shown in Fig. 11, andY which allows to pass through its meshes only such portions of the dust and dirt as may have escaped the screen E, all the said dust and dirt passing through the said screen E and the screen G falling into the box I-I through the incline chutes H" and H'. The partially-cleaned cellulose that has passed into the screen G eventually passes by gravity over the lower edge G of the said screen G and into the annular ring-like box K, surrounding the lower end of' the screen F, the outer end of the said screen G being hanged outward and at right angles, as shown at s in the detail Figs. 10 and 16, this flange working in the annular groove of said box KI to prevent the passage of the product through the clearance-space between the outside of the screen and the inner edge of the box. At the lower end of the box K is the guide-chute K', which conveys the product of the screen G onto the shaker-screen L. The product passing through the chute K' drops onto theshakerscreen L, which has a rapid reciprocating m'otion obtained through the lever-connections M and the eccentric 3 on the shaft 4 ofthe blower. Y

The'blower N is constructed, as shown in Figs. 11 and 12, of the box N, having openings G G in its sides,in the middle thereof, permitting the entrance of air into the box closely around the axis on which the fans 1 l revolve. The fans or paddles 1 1 are attached to the shaft 4, which is propelled by any suitable means, as by a pulley 2 and belt. Upon the shaft 4 are the eccentrics 3 3, which work in the slotted pitmen 5, causing through theI lever connections M the reciprocating motion of the shaker-screen L. The reciprocations of the screen L are in harmony with the blast of the blower N, said blower forcing a volume of air equal to the agitation of the particles of the cellulose, but not strong enough to prevent any heavier foreign matter from passing through said screen and dropping into the box O. The screen L is also on an incline, and the product passing over would naturally drop into the box P were it not for the volume of air coming from the blower N and passing up through the meshes of the screen L and through the opening R carrying it against the slightly-inclined planes S and S. Here again any heavier particles not properly belonging to the finished product have a tendency to strike against the inclined plane S, passing over its lower edge and falling onto the inclined plane S and eventually into the box P. It is found in practical operation that these heavier particles ofttimes carry with them portions of the finished product that it is desirable to save. Therefore in their passage from the inclined plane S to the secondary inclined plane S they are again subjected to the volume of air passing through the passage R and are forced up the secondary inclined plane S into the final receptacle T for the finished product.

Extending from the blower N, which may IIO be of any particular make or construction so it be sufficient for the purposes described, is the Wind-conduit U, which leads from said v blower into the upper end of the box V. This elongated box projects outwardly and inwardly from the line of the .outer boxing of the said screenE, its inner edge coming close and against the sides of thescreen. These guides V', V", V", and V are of dierent lengths, with catch-curves at their outer end. The one closest to the entrance of the conduit U is short, the others graduallyincreas' ing in length that they may guide the Volume of air along and into the side of the screen E with a uniform pressure. The passage of this air thus conveyed along the side 'of the screen keeps the contents of the said screen in constant agitation and aids inthe downward passage of the desired product to its exit in the annular conduit and at the same time frees the meshes of the screen from any particles of dirt having a tendency to adhere thereto.

Having thus described my invention and the processes through which the'product passes to its inal separation and cleaning, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. The combination, in a machine for separating and cleaning corn cellulose, of an inclined cylindrical rotating screen, its upper portion being of a ne mesh, and its lower portion of a coarse mesh; a cylindrical rotating screen of larger diameter and substantially the same size mesh as said upper portion, and surrounding, parallel to and concentric with, said lower portion, the lower end of said larger screen being flanged outwardly; and an annular or ring-like conveyer-box, which incloses the said flanged lower end of said surrounding screen, substantially as shown.

2. In a machine for separating and cleaning corn cellulose, the combination of a ro-v tating cylindrical screen and a Wind-distributing box, said` box being placed along and near, but not in contact with, the outside of said screen, and consisting of an elongated boXits inner face open, containing a series of graduated vanes or wind-guides, fiXedly attached within said box, at an angle to the direction of the incomingblast, thence toward said screen, substantially as shown.

3.' The combination, in a machine for separating and cleaning corn cellulose, of a primary inclined cylindrical rotating screen of a large mesh; a secondaryinclined cylindrical rotating screen having its upper portion linemeshed and its lower portion coarse-meshed,

and a blower with a throat or guiding-open-` ing, which direct the blast from `the blower along substantially horizontally under said shaker-screen and against said incline plane; together with suitable chutes and receptacles, substantially as shown.

In testimonywhereof I have aiiiXed my signature in presence of two witnesses.

BENJAMIN e. KRAP.

Witnesses:

G. W. HARRIS, JOSEPH GRoLL. 

